Work and what to do next...

[curtisrider]

Hello guys and girls,

Life/career advice required!

After finishing teaching in July last year, I moved back to my parents farm with the intention of going self employed. I spent my summer creating a rather splendid workspace to house all my equipment that I have built up over the years and to become my space to create in. Since then I have been gradually taking on the role of an arable farmer (my dad is slowly retiring) and sorting my workshop out further to ensure storage is ample and the layout is pleasant. Due to the nature of arable farming I also want to fill my free time with other work as the farm alone is not enough to live comfortably on as it's quite small. I love to design and make, I have a well equipped workshop and I'd like to combine these things to make me happy and also allow me to earn some extra money.

What I am struggling with most of all is being able to define what I do/can do, because I like to think myself as being rather multi talented and very able, this may sound cocky but I am able to apply myself to most things very well and create good outcomes. I don't want to limit myself to just one trade exclusively as I love variety and also challenges but I know this could also be my downfall as I could be seen as a Jack of all trades and a master of none.

A basic summary of my skill set and tooling/facilities includes:
Very able mechanic, including modifications and welding. I have restored a few cars including painting them.
Proficient fabricator, welding ability is improving massively recently and I have a well equipped metal workshop.
Competent carpenter, I am good at first and second fix, I am learning and enjoying furniture building processes more recently. I have a well equipped wood workshop.
CAD skills and a 3D printer, intention of building a large format CNC mill at some point this year.
Teaching ability is very good, I have 4 years of teaching experience in Design and Technology.
I recently completed my own full house refurbishment, of which the outcome was well received and apart from the boiler installation and rewire I did all the work myself, this included fitting a new bathroom and kitchen with some bespoke units.

So as you can see, all the gear and some idea. I like the idea of offering property maintenance as that gives some variety but I'm a little confused as to what I can offer when it comes to electrical and plumbing, as well as what courses I can take to ensure what I do is legal and can be insured. The issue with pursuing this is that I'm not available at some points of the year and this may have a negative impact on me and may make doing such courses not viable. The other option I considered is jumping on the Etsy/online selling bandwagon but without the ridiculous prices that people are asking, this allows me to get creative and do some bespoke work potentially but may also end up with me being stuck with lots of things that I can't sell...

What would you do in my position? What tips can you give? Especially interested to hear from people who have ventured into property maintenance and Etsy stuff or similar.

Thanks in advance!

 

[mbartlett99]

Hey

Strangely I'm in a very similar position. As a seagoing chief engineer I have a set of skills that few onshore people can match ie from IT, mechanics, plumbing and electrical installations that you just don't get onshore - but I'm not legally able to do any of it onshore Yes the jack of all trades master of none definitely applies - skill fade to the nth degree.

Also looking at property maintenance - well facilities management - and had a lot of positive feedback from the agencies in London (I'd be lookng at very large private residences or smaller commercial facilities). There seems to be a lot of demand and pay - in the home counties at least - seems good. I know a few guys locally who do property maintenance and with respect they're not that skilled so there may well be mileage in that idea. Very few are qualified electricians/plumbers etc and from what I can see getting a relevant ticket is pretty easy if you have the experience. I'd say give it a crack.

Making cash out of woodwork seems to be a much more challenging prospect from what I can tell.

 

[n0legs]

Hey

Strangely I'm in a very similar position. As a seagoing chief engineer I have a set of skills that few onshore people can match ie from IT, mechanics, plumbing and electrical installations that you just don't get onshore - but I'm not legally able to do any of it onshore Yes the jack of all trades master of none definitely applies - skill fade to the nth degree.
.

Jack of all trades, but master of one :wink:
Stop thinking so negatively Mike :lol:

 

[MattRoberts]

Curtis, you mention all of those things you do and that you like, but you don't mention what you love.

First question is: What would you love to do?

The second is: can you find a way to make money doing it?

If yes, then ace - get cracking, refine it, focus on it and possibly supplement with your other skills if necessary.

If no - that's ok. Many people (myself included) do things they don't love for a living. As long as there's a decent amount of enjoyment in it, it can earn you the money you need to do what you love in your spare time.

All the best - look forward to hearing how you get on

 

[lurker]

Is the market for those wheeled shepherds huts now saturated.
Perfect for hipster types with some ground and folks like farmers branching into glamping

 

[RobinBHM]

If you have any capital perhaps buying houses and renting out -although all the tv programmes has meant everybody and their Aunt are doing it.

If you have spare outbuildings on the farm could you convert to offices or workshops for renting out?

Maybe a local handyman type job, leaving flexibility for your farm work. IE jobs that only take up to a day or so which means you dont build up a long order book. Tradesmen often arent interested in doing small jobs so householders struggle to find anybody.

Maybe combine that with a bit of free time to do some workshop stuff.

 

[custard]

What would you do in my position? What tips can you give? Especially interested to hear from people who have ventured into property maintenance and Etsy stuff or similar.

I can only talk regarding bespoke furniture making, which might be relevant to the Etsy model, but the bottom line is that you're golden. Minuscule overheads, a decent amount of free time, and already have a basic income.

For independent furniture makers it's fairly easy to make a gross income (i.e. before overheads) of £10k, it's harder work but do-able to make £20-30k, and it's almost impossible to get up to £50k. So if you're starting from scratch and need to cover a £15k+ overhead then you're pretty much either completely stuffed or can't get past minimum wage.

That's why small designer/makers who survive more than a year or two so often fit a pattern. Military or police pension, supportive partner in a proper job, made a bomb in the city and bailed out in their 30's or 40's, mortgage and kids free plus have land/oubuildings for a decent rent free workshop, part time IT contractor, took early retirement from the civil service, etc, etc. But you can see the common threads...almost zero overheads, free time, not overly stressed about keeping the wolf from the door; in other words, sounds a lot like you!

Good luck!

 

[curtisrider]

Thank you ever so much for your replies, it really helps!

Mbartlett99
Firstly all the best with your venture. I too have noticed some tradesmen being a little bit lacking yet doing well so maybe I am worrying too much and my work will speak for itself. I have lots of experience with electrical and plumbing work but unfortunately no certificates so maybe doing a few courses should be a fairly fuss free experience for me.

MattRoberts
I love to design and make, and I love variety. Basically as long as i'm creating stuff i'm quite happy, as well as finding fixing things rather satisfying too. I don't have a specific area I prefer although recently my interest in working with wood has increased. This makes it harder for me as I don't really know how to/if I want to narrow my choices down.

Lurker and RobinBHM
I had looked into diversifying and setting up a glamping site, we are about 25 minutes from the coast here and there is a small field near the farm which would be a suitable site. The market does seem rather saturated here though, and unfortunately peak season clashes with my busiest time!

We do have some potential small outbuildings that would make fantastic holiday lets which seems to be a safer option to glamping and potential all year income, local people who have similar lets are always booked up.

I have just cash bought a house with my girlfriend, so no substantial spare money currently but we had considered taking the equity out in a few years time to invest in properties, my brother is also interested in joining in with this as he is rather experienced in building and he is especially good at my main weakness....painting! I'm totally rubbish at using a brush for some reason.

Custard
Yes I am in a fortunate position, my outgoings are fairly minimal workshop wise! Due to having no mortgage I only have to worry about bills and investing in a more suitable vehicle (it seems an old Porsche is not ideal for loading up with tools!).

The upcycling scene is something I have enjoyed for a while, I hate to waste and love creating things out of 'rubbish'. This is why I considered venturing onto Etsy. I also have a substantial amount of acquired stuff to get me started which helps considerably! I suppose I need to make a range of items and see what happens, the trouble is that could mean quite a lot of time without really getting any money back.

 

[rafezetter]

Curtis, with the workshop, equipment and teaching ability along with possible other workspace - have you considered running a "makerspace"? There are more and more of them popping up, along with communally shared workshops for small enthusiast makers of all kinds of things.

I'm sure you'll encounter people who would love to learn certain skills (for me it's welding) and would pay you for the priviledge, especially since a lot of the night courses on those sorts of subjects are pretty none existant now.

You might even be able to run something over a few days and have on site accomodation once the cashflow is a bit better.

 

[Keith 66]

Sounds to me like you should be teaching people how to make stuff, short courses in your own on site holiday acomadation that sort of thing.
All the sucessful self employed blokes i know had a good lady in a steady job to back them up!

 

[thetyreman]

you should create something in my opinion that somehow combines all these skills into one thing, what that is only you can answer

 

[lurker]

I meant building the things
You can stop start around your farm work and either sell or use the final product.

I think whatever your output is it ought to be what you could do on your property. Where you can put in an odd hour to suit your bread and butter income.
You have zero overheads so the failure risk is less, let your customers come to you.

 

[curtisrider]

Thanks again guys!

Rafezetter and Keith 66
Offering a makerspace sounds wonderful however I fear that getting my workshop suitable as a teaching environment (I use it for maintaining the farm machinery too) and the insurances involved may make it problematic however I will look into it. I know there was an ex DT teacher who converted a double decker into a mobile workshop and went to various schools (mainly primary) to do some cool activities which also interested me.

Thetyreman
If only it was that easy!

Lurker
I may go and visit some nearby sites and see if they are interested in investing in some more places for visitors to stay. My parents are after a summerhouse with a difference so that could be a good excuse to experiment and try some ideas out on a smaller scale!

 

[manglitter]

you should create something in my opinion that somehow combines all these skills into one thing, what that is only you can answer

Sounds like motorised sheds may be on the cards?

 

[thetyreman]

you should create something in my opinion that somehow combines all these skills into one thing, what that is only you can answer

Sounds like motorised sheds may be on the cards?

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